


And Then There Were Three

by Jazzblades



Series: Batboys and Their BatProblems [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce is a distant dad, Gen, Rated T for language, doesn't really follow canon, happening during "dick is dead" time frame, what's canon?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22959595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jazzblades/pseuds/Jazzblades
Summary: Dick’s gone now. Leaving his family in utter shambles. So, “big brother” Jason has to pick up all the broken pieces he left behind.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Series: Batboys and Their BatProblems [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653181
Comments: 11
Kudos: 180





	And Then There Were Three

Jason stepped through the manor door. He took a deep breath reassuring himself that he was here for a reason. He couldn’t turn back now. His steps were light as he made his way deeper inside. He passed by the entrance to the kitchen not daring to see if Alfred would be standing there. He reached the staircase. A sigh passed silently through his lips as he stopped to gather himself one more time. He took one step and then another practically holding his breath as he made his way up the stairs. It was quiet. It shouldn’t be this quiet. But then again, we don’t always get what we want, he thought bitterly. Jason made his way to Tim’s door. How he knew this was his, he still didn’t really know. He knocked twice against the solid oak and waited for…something. He could hear the shuffling of blankets through the door, but otherwise there was no other acknowledgment. With a quick turn of the handle he was inside. 

“Tim?” 

The only answer he got was the covers on the bed being drawn up over the occupant’s head. 

“I know I’m the last person you probably want to talk to right now but,” Jason took a gasping breath, needing to pause and consider what he would say next, “you…shouldn’t have to be alone right now.” He swallowed past the lump in his throat. Him and Dick hadn’t really been close before, but they had been working on it. He knew Dick wouldn’t want his little brothers to suffer because of him. 

He stood there in the middle of the room just staring at the lump on the bed. He wouldn’t stick around if Tim wasn’t in the mood to talk. “If you need me, I’ll be around.” Jason turned to leave grabbing the doorknob on his way. Maybe he’d have better luck with Damian. On the other hand, it might go worse. But he had resigned himself to the fact that he needed to talk to them both.

“Wait.” A voice called from behind him. Jason looked over his shoulder to see a mess of unruly black hair and two blue eyes staring back at him. “You’re staying?” 

“Yeah, I guess I am.” He nodded slowly.

“Why?” Tim pushed himself into a sitting position. 

“Because,” Jason paused, taking a moment to think through his answer, “because I might not have wanted to admit it to anyone, let alone myself, but we’re a family. A family of total fuckups,” He gave a humorless laugh, “but a family none the less. And I really wished this day would never come, but here we are. I’m the oldest now and I can’t…” Jason had to stop himself and try to hold back the tears he hadn’t let fall since he had heard the news. He was the oldest and his little brothers and his sister, who wasn’t even in the country, needed someone to lean against, someone they could rely on. Because Bruce was hiding himself away. He wasn’t letting any of them get close to him. He was running himself into the ground. So, if Bruce wasn’t going to pull himself together enough to take care of these traumatized kids then Jason would. 

He looked up again looking right into Tim’s red rimmed eyes, “I’m here now. This won’t be easy, I know that. I know I’ve monumentally fucked things up on more than one occasion but I’m here now. And I’m going to be here to catch you when you fall. Us Robins have to stick together, right?” Jason couldn’t look into those eyes anymore. He dropped his gaze to the floor, biting the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t sure if any of what he had said would be enough to convince Tim to trust him. At least trust him enough to have his back even just as allies if not brothers.

Tim pushed the blankets off himself fully and swung his legs off the bed. He stood and slowly made his way to stand directly in front of Jason. “You’re serious about this?” His tone was only slightly accusing.

Jason brought his stare up to meet Tim’s, finally seeing the depth of emotion within those sad, sad eyes. “I am. You don’t have to like me or trust me, Tim. I’m just here to finally step up. Something I should have done a long time ago.” 

“Tt.” Both Jason and Tim looked over to where Damian stood in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest. “Really, Todd? I hardly expected you to conform to such sentiment.” His button-y nose was turned up into the air like the snooty prince he was meant to be. The air of superiority he was trying to show was lessened by the redness in his eyes and the slightest tremble of his lips. 

“Sentiment or not we’re stuck with each other.” He said. He looked right into the youngest’s eyes as the next words tumbled out of his mouth.” Goldie wouldn’t want us to suffer in silence. He would have wanted us to come together, like he was always trying to do when-” He couldn’t finish the sentence. Alive. When Dick had been alive. 

Damian drew back into himself and looked down towards the floor. Jason had to blink the tears back again. He didn’t think it would hurt this much. That it would be so hard to just say a few simple words to some of the only other people on the planet who would understand his pain. He thought he wouldn’t care if Dickie just up and died one day. Turns out he does care. He cares so fucking much, apparently. Of course, Dick had to just go and die on them and leave him to pick up all the broken pieces left behind. Jason knew Bruce wouldn’t be able to. He was staying out longer for patrols and when he wasn’t burying himself in work in the cave, he was burying himself in work at Wayne Industries. Dick had been gone for almost a week. There was now just this void in all their lives were Dick had once been. Jason knew he could never replace all that Dick was, so he wasn’t going to try to. He would do this his way. He would be his own version of their big brother. These kids, who had already suffered so much, deserved that much at least. 

A hand was placed on his shoulder. “I trust you, Jason. We can figure this out. Because we’re Robins.” Jason stared into Tim’s eyes seeing a certainty that hadn’t been there earlier.

Damian raised his gaze to look at them both. It finally landed squarely on Jason and stayed there. “It is what Richard would have wanted.” Damian’s voice was hardly more than a whisper. He dropped his arms to his side and stood up straighter, filling himself with new purpose. Jason gave a nod towards Damian, and glanced back towards Tim. 

“Then we do this as brothers.” Tim nodded once and Damian quickly copied the action. 

It wouldn’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but then again, nothing with their family ever was. There would be a lot of trial and error; so many petty arguments, words that hit a little too close to home, and a chance to grieve together. They would make it work. What other choice did they have? Dick wasn’t there anymore to piece their patchwork family back together again. Bruce was too far into his own head over the loss of his eldest to truly offer the support the rest of them desperately needed. But the three of them would make it work. They’d even get Cass involved, too, whenever she came back. They could do this for Dick, for themselves. It was going to hurt like a bitch for the rest of their goddamn lives, but they’re Robins. And Robins don’t stay down for long.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry if some of it seems out of character. I just wanted to write something where our boys decide to band together and actually try to become family in the face of their tragedy. Also, in my mind Bruce is avoiding them because he thinks he might reveal that Dick's actually alive if he's around them a lot. Especially Tim. Also, it is Jason's POV so he doesn't think super highly of Bruce's actions anyways. Again thanks for checking it out, I really appreciate it! It was a nice way to get back into writing for fun and not just papers for school :) I'm also considering writing a follow-up to this, so stay tuned.


End file.
